Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Picoides borealis

Order: Piciformes

Family: Picidae (Woodpeckers)

Picoides borealis
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae (Woodpeckers)

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This badly endangered bird depends on longleaf pines in the Southeastern US. It roosts and nests only in live pines, usually those infected with red heart fungus, which softens the wood and makes cavity excavation easier. The birds also peck holes in the bark around the nest entrance, causing the tree to leak pitch that helps keep tree climbing snakes away.